OWEN FARRELL is in a race against time to be fit for the Lions’ first Test against New Zealand after pulling up lame in training.

The England fly-half was due to be on the bench for tomorrow’s game against the Maori All Blacks here but suffered a grade one strain to a quadricep muscle yesterday.

The recovery time is around 10 days – leaving him on a painfully tight schedule to make the first Test a week tomorrow.

Farrell was a certainty to start the series opener at Eden Park but Warren Gatland will have to consider reshaping his line-up behind the scrum – and keep everything crossed that Jonny Sexton comes through the Maori game unscathed. Dan Biggar fills Farrell’s place on the bench.

When Gatland named his team to face the Maori earlier yesterday, he hinted he was keeping Farrell in reserve with the first Test in mind.

“We felt Owen’s had a bit of rugby at the moment,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re not fully showing our hand. We’ve got to keep some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what our final squad might be.

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“Johnny Sexton needs more rugby and we’re building on that. He was really good off the bench the other day and his combination at 10 and 12 with Owen was pretty seamless.”

With Billy Vunipola ruled out before the tour left Britain, losing another lynchpin in Farrell would be a terrible blow to the Lions’ prospects.

And Gatland may also have to do without his tour captain for the first Test having given Sam Warburton, who is among the replacements tomorrow, no guarantees he will face the All Blacks.

“One of the reasons we selected Sam as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player,” Gatland said. “But this tour isn’t about him, it’s about putting the squad first. If Sam is not involved in the first Test, he will fully understand that.”

The pack Gatland has picked to take on the Maoris looks close to his Test unit, and the head coach has told all XV they need to start purring with their places on the line.

“We will get to see if these are going to be a lot of the combinations for the first Test,” he said. “They’ve just got to gel and keep working together.

“We’re all aware the players have had one or two chances. Some were lucky they were involved in a combination that went really well and sometimes you’ve got to reward that. That’s why we’ve gone with this selection.

“For the players not involved the message is we’ve seen in the past how significantly the team can change. You never know when your chance is going to come.”

With the injured Stuart Hogg on his way home, Leigh Halfpenny starts at full-back with George North and Anthony Watson on the wings. Liam William can consider himself unlucky not to be involved, but Watson was excellent off the bench against Crusaders and deserves a chance.

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The Lions lost to the Highlanders after blowing a 22-13 lead to lose 23-22

Sexton partners his Ireland team-mate Jonny Sexton at half-back and Gatland does have Jonathan Davies back from a head blow suffered in Christchurch and the Welshman partners Ben Te’o at centre.

“This is my first tour and I still don’t really know how a lot of things work,” said Te’o, who was born in Auckland. “I just have a plan to play hard and then get ready for what comes after that.

“I’ve never played against the Maori and I’ve never played in Rotorua, so it’s all new to me. If I get an opportunity in the Tests I would be very proud.”

Te’o and Davies are an exciting midfield blend, and helped create a line break within a minute of playing together against the Crusaders before the latter was forced off.

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Warren Gatland had hinted Jonny Sexton would start the next game regardless of Owen Farrell's injury

Against a blockbuster Maori outfit which features the electric Damian McKenzie at fly-half and Rieko Ioane and Nehe Milner-Skudder out wide, the Lions will have their hands full. Gatland still wants them to play.

On Halfpenny, but also possibly referring to his team as a whole, he said: “We know how strong Leigh is defensively, but it’s the attacking threat we’re looking for him to add to us on Saturday.

“His counter-attacking and scoring tries has improved significantly, that’s what we need.”

Test favourites Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadgh Furlong, George Kruis and Taulupe Faletau all start in a side led by Peter O’Mahony.